Hear U-Va.’s ‘Jackie’ testify about Rolling Stone’s gang rape story

In sworn testimony, Jackie said in her first public comments since 2014 that she continues to stand by the account of her gang rape allegations that were published in Rolling Stone, despite the fact that the magazine has retracted the story. (Zoeann Murphy/The Washington Post)

When Rolling Stone published a brutal account of a fraternity gang-rape at the University of Virginia, the magazine relied on the recollections of the young woman who said she was assaulted.

Quoted by the nickname “Jackie,” the tale of her assault was used to exemplify the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses and was the crux of an argument that university administrators who handle such claims can be indifferent to them.

Jackie told Rolling Stone in explicit detail aspects of the night she described as the worst in her life: Sept. 28, 2012, when she said she was assaulted by seven men at the Phi Kappa Psi house adjacent to campus.

In the days after Rolling Stone published her account in an article titled “A Rape on Campus,” Jackie’s allegations quickly came under scrutiny. In late November and early December, Jackie agreed to speak with The Washington Post amid an investigation into her allegations against the fraternity. Jackie gave a similar account to The Post, but an investigation — including interviews with Jackie’s friends, members of the fraternity and numerous others — found that Jackie’s tale had many discrepancies. Rolling Stone later retracted the article after police determined the attack didn’t happen and the Columbia Journalism School found the article deeply flawed.

In the two years since, the article has become the center of a $7.5 million federal court defamation lawsuit filed by former U-Va. dean Nicole Eramo, who was responsible for handling sexual assault cases at the university and the administrator who served as a confidant and adviser to Jackie.

As part of Eramo’s lawsuit, Jackie was required to sit for a taped deposition on April 7, 2016. An edited version of the recorded deposition was played for jurors in federal court on Monday. The testimony marked the first time since Dec. 4, 2014 — when Jackie last spoke to The Post — that Jackie has spoken publicly about the allegations.

The trembling voice that filled the courtroom Monday did not resemble the confident, intelligent and empowered young woman who spoke at length to The Post about the details of her assault. Though she has said she stands by the account Rolling Stone published, she now says that she has has post-traumatic stress disorder and no longer recalls many aspects of her attack.

“It’s, all like foggy,” she said in the deposition. “I don’t remember a lot of what happened during that time.”

But she told lawyers in the case that “I stand by the account that I gave Rolling Stone and I believed it to be true at the time.”

“What do you mean you believed it to be true at the time?” Jackie was asked by Eramo’s lawyers.

“I mean I believed it to be true at the time,” she replied.

“Do you no longer believe it to be true?” Eramo’s lawyer asked.

“I believe that I was assaulted but some of the details of my assault — I have PTSD and some of them are foggy.”

In sworn testimony, 'Jackie' said she stands by the account she gave to Rolling Stone about a brutal gang rape she says took place U-VA's campus in September 2012. In this taped deposition she is questioned by Tom Clare, who is representing former U-Va. dean Nicole Eramo, in a $7.5 million dollar defamation lawsuit against Rolling Stone. (Zoeann Murphy/TWP)

Jackie said later in the sworn deposition that her PTSD affects many memories of events after her alleged assault in September 2012.

“There have always been certain things I can’t remember, and you know, some things that I think I remember that I don’t know if I really remember,” Jackie said.

In one revealing section of her testimony, Eramo’s lawyers asked Jackie to confirm facts about her assault that she shared with Rolling Stone magazine, details that informed the shocking narrative introduction to the article written by journalist Sabrina Rubin Erdely.

“Did you tell Ms. Erdely that you had met your date, the person who later orchestrated your assault, while working as a lifeguard shift at the U-Va. pool?” Clare asked.

“I don’t remember,” Jackie said.

“Did you tell Ms. Erdely that this co-worker had invited you to a date function at Phi Kappa Psi on Sept. 28, 2012?” Clare asked.

“I — I can’t recall,” Jackie said. “I don’t — I don’t know.”

“Did you tell Ms. Erdely that you left Phi Psi at 3 a.m. barefoot and splattered with blood?” Clare asked.

“I don’t remember,” Jackie said.

'Jackie' says she has post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and can not remember all of the details surrounding an alleged brutal gang rape that was the focus of the Rolling Stone article: A Rape on Campus. In this taped deposition she is questioned by Tom Clare, who is representing former U-Va. dean Nicole Eramo, in a $7.5 million dollar defamation lawsuit against Rolling Stone. (TWP)

Palma Pustilnik, a lawyer who represents Jackie, told The Post: “We continue to have no comment in this matter.”

The document below is the transcript of Jackie’s deposition that was entered into evidence in federal court; it is the transcript of the audio recording that was played for the jury in open court.